Does hepatic vein outflow obstruction contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma?
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the more common malignant diseases in the world. Here we have investigated role of hepatic venous outflow obstruction in the development of HCC. During a 10-year period from November 1986 to December 1996, 1,748 patients with clinical evidence of either portal hypertension, hepatic venous outflow obstruction, or inferior vena cava obstruction without Behçet’s disease (BD) and 512 patients with Behçet’s disease were examined at Hacettepe University Hospital. The presence of and the effect of hepatic venous obstruction on the subsequent development of HCC was assessed. In each case, hepatic vein thrombosis was assessed by hepatic venography and by digital subtraction angiography (DSA), computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US), and liver biopsy. Coagulation factors, including protein C, protein S, anti-thrombin III, and routine laboratory studies assessing the coagulability of blood were also investigated. The role of hepatic venous outflow o
